GS550 Valve Tappet Clearance Questions

[njolin]

Hello all,
I am checking the valve clearances on my 80 gs550e, and from what I can tell 7 of the 8 cams are touching the tappets all the time. I am using an older gauge with the smallest says a number 2 ( maybe a .002 in?, its really thin and feels like paper even though its metal.) and I can only get thru one of them.

What do i need to do from here? Should I try different tappets until I find the right one?
Are these tappets pretty easy to come by?
How about the tappet remover tool? Anyone know where I can find that?

Also, is there a good place to get the valve cover gasket?

Thanks for any info you can give a GS beginner.

[tkent02]

What I do is spin the shim with my finger in it's bucket when the cam is in the proper position for checking.
If it can spin, there is at least some clearance, one size smaller should give just above .05mm clearance. For instance, if it has a 2.65 go to a 2.60.
If it won't spin, there is zero or less clearance, try two sizes smaller. So if it has a 2.65 go to a 2.55. This should be in the ball park.


Always double check once they are all back in and the engine has been rotated through a few times.

You need to get feeler gauges that are marked correctly.
It does no good if you don't know what it means.

[Nessism]

Welcome to the forum.

I know you are brand new, and sorry to slam you in response to your very first post, but this topic comes up very regularly so the archives has many many posts just like yours. Please use the Advanced Search feature, and try "Titles Only" to limit the number of hits you get. Try searching on "valve" or "shim" and you will find all the info you need.

Bottom line is your bike has been neglected by some idiot that doesn't understand the importance of maintenance. The valve clearance all went away (hopefully the valves aren't all burnt) so you need a thin shim of some sort that you can install and get an accurate accounting of which shims you will need.

Good luck.